Driven Infant Seat

ABSTRACT

An infant rocking seat includes a base; a track provided on the base having a first arc-shaped portion and a second arc-shaped portion meeting at a crest; a carriage having a body portion, a first pair of wheels positioned at a first end of the body portion, and a second pair of wheels positioned at a second end of the body portion; and a drive mechanism configured to move the carriage along the track. The carriage is positioned within a central portion of the base and is configured to ride along the track. A distance between the first pair of wheels and the second pair of wheels is less than a distance between centers of curvature of the first arc-shaped portion and the second arc-shaped portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/211,979 filed Mar. 14, 2014, which is based on U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Nos. 61/788,214, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and 61/878,256,filed Sep. 16, 2013, on which priority of this patent application isbased and which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a driven infant seat and,more particularly, to a seat for an infant or baby that can be moved bya drive mechanism.

2. Description of Related Art

Baby swings and bouncy seats have been used to hold, comfort, andentertain infants and babies for many years. Prior art bouncy seats arenormally constructed with a wire frame that contains some resistance todeformation that is less than or equal to the weight of the child in theseat. Thus, when the child is placed in the seat, his or her weightcauses a slight and temporary deformation in the wire structure that isthen counteracted by the wire frame's resistance to deformation. The endresult is that the child moves up and down slightly relative to thefloor. This motion can be imparted to the seat by a caregiver for thepurpose of entertaining or soothing the child.

Baby swings normally function in much the same way as swing sets forolder children; however, the baby swing usually has an automatedpower-assist mechanism that gives the swing a “push” to continue theswinging motion in much the same way a parent will push an older childon a swing set to keep them swinging at a certain height from theground.

There are some products that have recently entered the market that defyeasy inclusion into either the bouncy or swing category. One suchproduct includes a motorized motion that can move the infant laterally,but only has a single degree of motorized freedom and, is thus, limitedin the motion profiles that can be generated. While the seat can berotated so that the baby is moved back and forth in a differentorientation, there remains only one possible motion profile.

For the above reasons and others, it is desirable to develop an improvedrocking infant seat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, provided is a rocking infant seat that provides a uniquemotion. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, theinfant rocking seat includes a base; a track provided on the base havinga first arc-shaped portion and a second arc-shaped portion meeting at acrest; a carriage having a body portion, a first pair of wheelspositioned at a first end of the body portion, and a second pair ofwheels positioned at a second end of the body portion; and a drivemechanism configured to move the carriage along the track. The carriageis positioned within a central portion of the base and is configured toride along the track. A distance between the first pair of wheels andthe second pair of wheels is less than a distance between centers ofcurvature of the first arc-shaped portion and the second arc-shapedportion.

Alternatively to having the first arc-shaped portion and the secondarc-shaped portion meet at a crest, a bumper or an end-of-travel stopmay be positioned where the first arc-shaped portion and the secondarc-shaped portion meet.

In addition, the distance between the centers of curvature of the firstarc-shaped portion and the second arc-shaped portion may be less than atrack diameter. The track diameter may be between about 16 inches andabout 48 inches.

The carriage may be configured to support a seating portion. The seatingportion may include a seat support tube coupled to the carriage, and asubstantially elliptical seat coupled to a first end and a second end ofthe seat support tube. However, this is not to be construed as limitingthe present invention as the seat of the seating portion may have anysuitable shape. The seating portion may further include a toy bar havinga first end coupled to the second end of the seat support tube and asecond end extending over the seat.

A controller may be mounted within the base. The controller may includea user interface configured to receive input from the user forcontrolling the drive mechanism, as well as a device for communicatingto the user information relating to the operating parameters of theinfant seat. Such a device may be one or more LEDs, an LCD display, orany other suitable display. Alternatively, the user interface may beprovided separate from the base and communicate with the controllerwirelessly.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, aninfant seat includes: a base; a track positioned on a surface of thebase; a carriage configured to move along the track; and a drivemechanism positioned on the surface of the base for driving the carriageto move along the track. The drive mechanism includes: a motor; a driveshaft driven by the motor; at least one spindle positioned to rotate onthe drive shaft; and a string connected between the spindle and thecarriage. Rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction pulls thecarriage forward and rotation of the drive shaft in a second directionopposite to the first direction releases the carriage, thereby allowingthe carriage to move in reverse without motor resistance. Alternatively,rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction pulls the carriageforward and the seat mass moving along the first arc-shaped portion andthe second arc-shaped portion of the track pulls and “unwinds” thestring from the spindle.

The drive system may further include a pulley connected to the motor andthe drive shaft to rotate the drive shaft. The pulley may be centrallylocated along the length of the drive shaft. However, this is not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention as the pulley may be locatedat any suitable position along the length of the drive shaft. The drivesystem may also include a first spindle positioned at a first end of thedrive shaft and a second spindle positioned at a second end of the driveshaft. The string may have a first end connected to the first spindle, alength that extends along a first side of the carriage, through acentral portion of the carriage, and along a second side of thecarriage, and a second end connected to the second spindle.Alternatively, the string may simply be anchored to each side of thecarriage and not routed through the central portion thereof. The stringmay be manufactured from a high tensile strength ultra high molecularweight polyethylene. However, this is not to be construed as limitingthe present invention as any material of suitable strength may beutilized in manufacturing the string.

The carriage may be configured to support a seating portion. The seatingportion may include: a seat support tube coupled to the carriage; and asubstantially elliptical seat coupled to a first end and a second end ofthe seat support tube. The seating portion may also include a toy barhaving a first end coupled to the second end of the seat support tubeand a second end extending over the seat.

The infant seat may further include a controller mounted within thebase. The controller may include a user interface configured to receiveinput from the user for controlling the drive mechanism, as well as adevice for communicating to the user information relating to theoperating parameters of the infant seat. Such a device may be one ormore LEDs, an LCD display, or any other suitable display. A plurality ofsensors may provide feedback from the carriage and components of thedrive system to the controller.

These and other features and characteristics of the device of thepresent disclosure, as well as the methods of operation and functions ofthe related elements of structures and the combination of parts andeconomies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon considerationof the following description and the appended claims with reference tothe accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of thisspecification, wherein like reference numerals designate correspondingparts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however,that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and descriptiononly and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the device ofthe present disclosure. As used in the specification and the claims, thesingular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a driven infant seat in accordancewith one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the driven infant seat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a seating portion of the driven infant seat ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the driven infant seat of FIG. 1 with theseating portion removed;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of a portion of the driven infant seatof FIG. 1 with the seating portion removed;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a toy bar assembly for use with thedriven infant seat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a portion of the driven infant seatof FIG. 1 with the seating portion and top base cover removed;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the carriage and track of the driveninfant seat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the drive mechanism of the driven infantseat of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a portion of FIG. 4 with the top basecover removed;

FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of a portion of the driven infantseat of FIG. 1 with the seating portion and top base cover removed;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 11 enlarged formagnification purposes;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a portion of the driven infant seat ofFIG. 1 with the top base cover and seating portion removed illustratinga device for limiting the movement of the carriage;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a portion of the driven infant seat ofFIG. 1 with the seating portion and the top base cover removed;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a portion of the driven infant seat ofFIG. 1 with the seating portion and the top base cover removed;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 15 enlarged formagnification purposes;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of the carriage and track of the driveninfant seat having an alternative drive mechanism; and

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the driven infant seat incorporatingthe drive mechanism of FIG. 17.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”,“right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”,“longitudinal”, and derivatives thereof, shall relate to the device ofthe present disclosure as it is oriented in the drawing figures.However, it is to be understood that the device of the presentdisclosure may assume various alternative variations, except whereexpressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood thatthe specific devices illustrated in the attached drawings, and describedin the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of thedevice of the present disclosure. Hence, specific dimensions and otherphysical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein arenot to be considered as limiting.

A driven infant seat according to one embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1-16.

With reference to FIGS. 1-6, driven infant seat, denoted generally asreference numeral 1, includes a base 3, a carriage 5 configured to movewithin a central opening 7 formed within a central portion of the base3, and a support device 9 coupled to the carriage 5. Support device 9includes a seating portion 11 and an arcuate seat support tube 13.Seating portion 11 has a generally elliptical shape having an upper end15 and a lower end 17 when viewed from above.

Seating portion 11 is designed to receive a fabric or other type ofcomfortable seat 19 for an infant as shown in phantom in FIG. 3. Seat 19may be coupled to seating portion 11 using zippers, hook and loopfabric, buttons, snaps, or any other suitable fastening mechanism. Inaddition, seat 19 may further include a strap or other suitablerestraint system (not shown) to secure a baby or infant to seat 19 as iswell known in the art. Seat 19 is desirably manufactured in a variety ofcolors and patterns such that a parent or care provider can change theaesthetic look of driven infant seat 1 by interchanging seat 19 withoutreplacing driven infant seat 1.

Seat support tube 13 is connected to upper end 15 of seating portion 11via an upper connector 21 and curvedly extends away from the upperconnector 21 toward lower end 17 of seating portion 11 where it iscoupled to a lower connector 23. Seat support tube 13 is supported by,and rigidly engaged with, a curved passage 25 (see FIG. 5) in an upperportion of carriage 5 between upper connector 21 and lower connector 23.A locking mechanism operated by a cam mechanism 27 rigidly holds thesupport portion 9 to the carriage 5 when activated and allows supportportion 9 to be removed from the carriage 5 when deactivated.

In addition, a toy bar 29 is also provided as shown in FIG. 6. Toy bar29 includes a first end 31 coupled to upper connector 21 and a secondend 33 extending over seating portion 11. Second end 33 of toy bar 29may include a toy hanger 35 disposed thereon for mounting one or aplurality of toys 37 to entertain the infant. The toy bar 29 is madefrom molded plastic and interfaces with toy hanger 35 using aball-in-socket mechanism 39. There are three arms 41 extending from thecenter of the toy hanger 35 which each hold stuffed fabric toys 37. Thearms 41 have three tines 43 that are designed to hold the toys 37 inplace, and the toys 37 are sewn with a 3-web design. Each web slidesbetween tines 43 to hold the toys 37 in place, but still allows for easyremoval.

Base 3 includes a bottom support housing 45 with a top enclosure 47positioned over and covering bottom support housing 45. A drivemechanism (see FIG. 9) is supported on bottom support housing 45. Base 3houses control knob 49 coupled to a controller for viewing andcontrolling the speed of the drive mechanism as will be described ingreater detail hereinafter. Base 3 may further include a portable musicplayer input jack 51 for playing music or other pre-recorded soothingsounds through speakers 52. In addition, music and other pre-recordedsounds stored on a phone may also be played through speakers 52 byconnecting the phone to the input jack 51. A display 53 that includes aplurality of LEDs to provide information to the user as the speed of thereciprocation motion may also be incorporated into base 3.

With reference to FIGS. 7-10, and with continuing reference to FIGS.1-6, driven infant seat 1 further includes a motion mechanism, denotedgenerally as reference numeral 55, supported by bottom support housing45 of base 3. The motion mechanism 55 when powered by a drive mechanismprovides a rocking motion to the seating portion 11 of the driven infantseat 1. The motion mechanism 55 includes the carriage 5 and a trackprovided on the bottom support housing 45. The track includes a pair ofparallel spaced track portions 57 a, 57 b each comprising a firstarc-shaped portion 59 and a second arc-shaped portion 61 meeting at acrest 63. Carriage 5 includes a pair of extension arms 65 that extendinto the base 3. Each of the extension arms 65 supports a pair of wheels67 a-67 d such that a first set of wheels 67 a, 67 b are positioned at afront end of the carriage 5 and a second set of wheels 67 c, 67 d arepositioned at a rear end of the carriage 5 (see FIG. 13). The wheels arearranged such that wheel 67 a rides along first arc-shaped portion 59 oftrack portion 57 a, wheel 67 b rides along first arc-shaped portion 59of track portion 57 b, wheel 67 c rides along second arc-shaped portion61 of track portion 57 a, and wheel 67 d rides along second arc-shapedportion 61 of track portion 57 b. In this manner, carriage 5 ispositioned within central opening 7 of base 3 and is configured to ridealong the track portions 57 a, 57 b.

The rocking motion provided to driven infant seat 1 is created by havingcarriage 5 rolling along track portions 57 a, 57 b that have a generalgeometry as described above and schematically shown in FIG. 8. Specificparameters which lead to the rocking motion include: (1) circular,elliptical, a clothoid curve having a linearly changing radius, orsimilarly rounded track geometry; (2) distance L between wheels 67 a, 67b and 67 c, 67 d being less than the distance X between the centers ofcurvature of the first arc-shaped portion 59 and the second arc-shapedportion 61; (3) distance X between centers of curvature of the firstarc-shaped portion 59 and the second arc-shaped portion 61 being lessthan the track diameter D; and (4) track diameter D being between 16inches and 48 inches. Alternatively, with regard to item (3) above, therocking motion of the driven infant seat 1 of the present inventioncould also be achieved with the distance X between centers of curvatureof the first arc-shaped portion 59 and the second arc-shaped portion 61being equal to or greater than the track diameter D by making the lengthof the carriage 5 very long.

Driven infant seat 1 has an inherent natural frequency at which itoperates most efficiently. The control system, as discussed in greaterdetail hereinafter, is desirably tuned to move the driven infant seat 1at the natural frequency to create a natural rocking motion and tominimize the amount of energy required to drive the driven infant seat1. To this end, minimizing friction and rolling resistance in motionmechanism 55 is important. Conventional swings have few parts movingrelative to one another and, thus, little friction. However, in thedesign of the driven infant seat 1 of the present invention,self-lubricating plastics and additional lubrication are used to reducefriction, rolling resistance is minimized by designing a rigid wheel androlling surface, and wheels having a large wheel diameter reducefriction and minimize rolling noise.

Furthermore, a favorable motion for an infant seat exhibits a periodbetween 1.5 and 3 seconds. Longer times result in a more gentle anddesirable motion for the infant. In a swing, having a long periodrequires a very long swing arm which creates a larger overall size.However, for driven infant seat 1 disclosed herein, a small change tothe track or wheel geometry can dramatically increase or decrease theperiod of the seat.

As opposed to a swing or most other infant seats, there are no linkagesor mechanisms required next to or above the infant. This design allowsfor base 3 to be less than 6 inches in height, with only the supportdevice 9 extending above this height. This also leads to a smalleroverall footprint for the driven infant seat 1.

Still further, driven infant seat 1 operates in a way that does notintroduce pinch points or other unsafe conditions because carriage 5includes a portion having a small cross-section (i.e., the extensionarms 65) that extends through a slot 69 provided in the central opening7 of the base 3 (see FIGS. 2, 4, and 5). Within the base 3, the carriage5 then extends to the wheel locations as shown in FIGS. 7 and 13. Thisrequires a rigid, strong material in the carriage 5 to prevent failureor sagging. With the aforementioned configuration, there would still bepinch points between the carriage 5 and the base 3 of the driven infantseat 1 within the slots 69. Accordingly, the carriage 5 includes largeshields 71 that move within the base 3 in close proximity to the slot69, but without making contact with the base 3. The shields 71 are shownin FIGS. 4, 5, and 7.

In order to prevent the carriage wheels 67 a-67 d from lifting off thetrack portions 57 a, 57 b, there is also a pair of shaft guide parts 73inside the base 3 which guide the wheels 67 a-67 d along their motionbut prevent them from lifting substantially when the driven infant seat1 is lifted, the infant positioned within the driven infant seat 1 isoff-centered, or the like. More specifically, and with reference toFIGS. 13 and 14, carriage 5 is free to move in an undesirable fashion ifnot properly constrained. For instance, if the driven infant seat 1 isloaded on the front edge of the seating portion 11, the rear wheels 67c, 67 d will lift off the track portions 57 a, 57 b. In addition, if thedriven infant seat 1 is picked up by the seating portion 11, the seatingportion 11 will move relative to the base 3 in an undesirable manner.

To solve this problem, the two long shaft guide parts 73 are providedthat are positioned just slightly above extended wheel axles 75 of thewheels 67 a-67 d of the carriage 5. If the carriage 5 is lifted off thetrack portions 57 a, 57 b for any reason, the shaft guide parts 73 limitthe upward movement to a minimal distance. In effect, the carriage 5 andthe support device 9 feel as though they are always riding along thetrack portions 57 a, 57 b.

In a variety of other situations, the carriage 5 may arrive at its endof travel. When it does so, the carriage 5 hits a hard stop that isjarring to the touch and creates an undesirable noise. This also leadsto a poor-customer experience. Accordingly, a bumper assembly 77 isprovided at the crest 63 of each of the track portions 57 a, 57 b asshown in FIGS. 13, 15, and 16. These bumper assemblies 77 are designedto come into contact with the carriage 5 before the carriage 5 reachesits end of travel. Each bumper assembly 77 absorbs impact energy at theend of travel and helps to return the carriage 5 to its “normal” rangeof travel. It does so by utilizing a torsion spring 79 secured to aportion of the bottom support housing 45 of the base 3 of the driveninfant seat 1. In addition, the bumper assemblies 77 each have anelastomer part 81 mounted to the top of the torsion spring 79 thatcontacts a portion of the carriage 5 directly that makes the contactvirtually silent.

With specific reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a string drive mechanism 83is mounted on the bottom support housing 45 for driving the motionmechanism 55 to move back and forth. The drive mechanism 83 includes amotor 85 turning a pulley 87 which turns a drive shaft 89. Spindles 91are provided on each end of the drive shaft 89 which wind a high tensilestrength UHMWPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) string 93that is attached to the carriage 5. This winding pulls the carriage 5forward toward the front of the driven infant seat 1. The motor 85 turnsin reverse each cycle to release the string 93. The weight of thecarriage 5 and the baby positioned within the seating portion 11 canalso turn the motor 85 in reverse, but this takes energy away from theseat motion.

The attachment method of the string 93 to the carriage 5 is as follows.If the string 93 were to only pull on one side of the carriage 5, therewould be some racking motion and energy loss. By having a spindle 91 anda string 93 on each side of the carriage 5, the racking is reduced, butdifficult to eliminate. Accordingly, the carriage 5 is provided with aU-shaped tube that includes a first low-friction tube portion 95, acentral passage portion 97, and a second low-friction tube portion 99.The string 93 is routed through the first low-friction tube portion 95provided on a first side of the carriage 5 through the central passageportion 97 and back out the second low-friction tube portion 99 providedon the opposite side of the carriage 5. This arrangement allows thestring 93 to freely slide and automatically adjust length, therebyproviding equal string tension on each side of the carriage 5 (see FIG.10).

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, an important aspect of thisdisclosure is the manner in which the string 93 of the string drivemechanism 83 is managed to allow for consistent performance of thedriven infant seat 1. The string drive mechanism 83 describedhereinabove creates slack in the string 93 that needs to be reduced toprevent tangling during motion. To help reduce such slack, two torsionsprings 101 are mounted to the front of the carriage 5 in front of eachof the low-friction tubes 95, 99. These light-duty springs 101 aredeflected as tension is placed on the string 93, and after tension isreleased, return to their original positions, thereby reducing stringslack. A secondary purpose of the torsion springs 101 is to preventstring vibration. When there is significant weight placed in the seatingportion 11, a sudden pull on the string 93 can cause it to vibrate andcreate a “plucking” noise. With the torsion spring 101 applying a smallload on the string 93, this vibration is dampened and the noise issilenced.

An alternative drive mechanism 103 that may be utilized is illustratedin FIGS. 17 and 18. Drive mechanism 103 is based on a rack and pinionapproach and includes a motor 105 contained within or attached to thecarriage 5, a gear 107 at the end of an extended motor drive shaft 109,and a curved rack section 111 that is positioned adjacent to the track57 and includes a plurality of teeth. Drive mechanism 103 operates bypowering the motor 105, which rotates the gear 107, which in turn movesthe gear 107 along the rack section 111 and the wheels 67 a-67 d of thecarriage 5 along the track 57. In order for such a drive mechanism 103to function properly, the geometry of the rack section 111 must beconfigured such that a gear pitch circle is always tangent to a rackpitch arc. In addition, the carriage 5 must be geometrically constrainedto the rack section 111 and track 57 to ensure the teeth of the gear 107do not disengage from the rack section 111 or slip.

The use of such a drive mechanism 103 is advantageous in that the motor105 has the ability to control the motion of the carriage 5 at all timesduring operation. The motor 105 may operate only in one direction, andunpowered in the opposite direction. However, the motor 105 may alsooperate and control motion in both directions.

As another alternative, the drive mechanism may include a friction wheelrather than gear 107 and a curved section for receiving the frictionwheel rather than curved rack section 111 having teeth and functionsimilarly to drive mechanism 103 described hereinabove.

Returning to FIGS. 1-16, the control system, desirably configured as amicroprocessor, of the driven infant seat 1 is responsible for producinga smooth, controlled seat motion and works for weights ranging from 0-25lbs. The driven infant seat 1 has to be moved forward and then allowedto move backward periodically, in a rocking-horse type of motion. Theamplitude of the motion, i.e., the distance from the center of the trackportions 57 a, 57 b to which the seating portion 11 is pulled forward,is determined by the speed settings available to the user.

The motion of the driven infant seat 1 can be divided into the forwardcycle and the reverse cycle. In the forward cycle, the carriage 5 andthe support device 9 are pulled forward from rest until it comes to astop, and in the reverse cycle, the carriage 5 and the support device 9are released and fall back under the force of gravity to return to theiroriginal position using the physics of a pendulum.

In the forward cycle, potential energy is added to the system by pullingon the carriage 5 for a small period of time. This is accomplished byusing a string 93 connected between the carriage 5 and the drive shaft89 of the drive mechanism 83. When the carriage 5 needs to be pulledforward, the motor 85 is energized by the control system and startsrotating. This rotation winds up the string 93 around the spindles 91 ofthe drive shaft 89. As a result, the string 93 starts moving forward andthis, in turn, pulls the carriage 5 in the same direction.

If the control system detects an overshoot, i.e., the carriage 5 movesbeyond the desired amplitude, the control system causes the motor topull the string 93 and thereby the carriage 5 with less force in thesubsequent forward cycle. Similarly, if the system detects anundershoot, i.e., the carriage 5 is unable to reach the desiredamplitude, the control system causes the motor to pull the string 93 andthereby the carriage 5 with more force in the subsequent forward cycle.Hence, the control system continuously monitors the actual motion of thecarriage 5 and adjusts the speed of the motor 85 at the beginning ofevery forward cycle. When the carriage 5 reaches the desired amplitudein its forward motion, the forward cycle comes to an end and the reversecycle begins.

In the reverse cycle, the carriage 5 has enough potential energy toreturn back on its own. However, this is only possible if there isenough string slack in the system. In other words, the string 93 wrappedaround the spindles 91 of the drive shaft 89 has to be unwound quicklyas the carriage 5 is falling backwards; otherwise it will impede thebackward motion of the carriage 5. The control system accomplishes thisby first predicting the distance the carriage 5 will travel backward,and then releasing the corresponding amount of string 93. When thecarriage 5 reaches the most negative amplitude in its reverse motion,the forward cycle begins again and so on.

The control system uses a plurality of infrared (IR) sensors (not shown)to create a position measurement system for the seat, as well as providea manner in which to monitor the amount of string 93 wrapped around thespindles 91.

While specific embodiments of the device of the present disclosure havebeen described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that various modifications and alternatives to those details couldbe developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure.Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to beillustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the device of thepresent disclosure which is to be given the full breadth of the claimsappended and any and all equivalents thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An infant seat comprising: a base; a trackprovided on the base; a carriage configured to ride along the track; adrive mechanism configured to move the carriage along the track; amicroprocessor operatively connected to the drive mechanism; and atleast one sensor operatively connected to the microprocessor, whereinthe microprocessor is configured to provide a signal to the drivemechanism based on a signal from the at least one sensor that causes thedrive mechanism to one of a) move the carriage such that the carriagetravels along the track in a first direction and b) release the carriagesuch that the carriage travels along the track in a second direction. 2.The infant seat of claim 1, wherein the track has a first arc-shapedportion and a second arc-shaped portion meeting at a crest.
 3. Theinfant seat of claim 2, wherein the carriage comprises a body portion, afirst pair of wheels positioned at a first end of the body portion, anda second pair of wheels positioned at a second end of the body portion,the carriage positioned within a central portion of the base andconfigured to ride along the track.
 4. The infant seat of claim 3,wherein a distance between the first pair of wheels and the second pairof wheels is less than a distance between centers of curvature of thefirst arc-shaped portion and the second arc-shaped portion.
 5. Theinfant seat of claim 2, wherein the carriage is travelling up the firstarc-shaped portion and down the second arc-shaped portion when thecarriage is moved in the first direction and the carriage is travellingdown the first arc-shaped portion and up the second arc-shaped portionwhen the carriage is released in the second direction.
 6. The infantseat of claim 2, further comprising a user interface operativelyconnected to the microprocessor, the user interface configured toreceive input from a user for controlling the drive mechanism and adevice for communicating to the user information relating to operatingparameters of the infant seat.
 7. The infant seat of claim 6, wherein adistance to which the carriage is pulled forward by the drive mechanismis determined by a speed setting provided on the user interface.
 8. Theinfant seat of claim 7, wherein if the at least one sensor detects thatthe carriage has moved beyond the distance determined by the speedsetting, the microprocessor sends a signal to the drive mechanism tomove the carriage with less force.
 9. The infant seat of claim 7,wherein if the at least one position sensor detects that the carriage isunable to reach the distance from the center of the first arc-shapedportion and the second arc-shaped portion determined by the speedsetting, the microprocessor sends a signal to the drive mechanism topull the carriage with increased force.
 10. A system for controllingmotion of an infant seat, the infant seat comprising: a base; a trackprovided on the base; a carriage configured to ride along the track; anda drive mechanism configured to move the carriage along the track, thesystem comprising: a microprocessor operatively connected to the drivemechanism; and at least one sensor operatively connected to themicroprocessor, wherein the microprocessor is configured to provide asignal to the drive mechanism based on a signal from the at least onesensor that causes the drive mechanism to one of a) move the carriagesuch that the carriage travels along the track in a first direction andb) release the carriage such that the carriage travels along the trackin a second direction.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the track hasa first arc-shaped portion and a second arc-shaped portion meeting at acrest.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the drive mechanismcomprises: a motor; a drive shaft driven by the motor, wherein rotationof the drive shaft in a third direction pulls the carriage in the firstdirection and rotation of the drive shaft in a fourth direction oppositeto the third direction releases the carriage.
 13. The system of claim12, wherein the microprocessor is configured to actuate the drivemechanism to impart motion to the carriage.
 14. The system of claim 13,further comprising at least one spindle positioned to rotate on thedrive shaft; and a string connected between the at least one spindle andthe carriage.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the motion imparted tothe carriage can be divided into a forward cycle, in which the motor isenergized by the microprocessor to rotate the drive shaft in the thirddirection, thereby winding up the string around the at least one spindleof the drive shaft and pulling the carriage in the first direction, andreleasing the drive shaft in the fourth direction, thereby unwinding thestring wrapped around the at least one spindle of the drive shaft andreleasing the carriage to move in the second direction.
 16. The systemof claim 15, wherein the at least one sensor is used to operativelymeasure the amount of string being wound and unwound around the at leastone spindle.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the drive mechanismcomprises a first spindle positioned at a first end of the drive shaftand a second spindle positioned at a second end of the drive shaft. 18.The system of claim 17, wherein the string has a first end connected tothe first spindle, a length that extends along a first side of thecarriage, through a central portion of the carriage, and along a secondside of the carriage, and a second end connected to the second spindle.19. A method for controlling motion of an infant seat, the methodcomprising: providing an infant seat comprising a base; a track providedon the base; a carriage configured to ride along the track; a drivemechanism configured to move the carriage along the track; amicroprocessor operatively connected to the drive mechanism; and atleast one sensor operatively connected to the microprocessor; sending asignal from the microprocessor to the drive mechanism based on a signalfrom the sensor; and initiating the drive mechanism based on the signalfrom the microprocessor to one of a) move the carriage such that thecarriage travels along the track in a first direction and b) release thecarriage such that the carriage travels along the track in a seconddirection.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: positioningat least one spindle to rotate on a drive shaft of the drive mechanism;and connecting a string between the at least one spindle and thecarriage; and imparting motion to the carriage by rotating the driveshaft in a forward direction, thereby winding up the string around theat least one spindle of the drive shaft and moving the carriage in thefirst direction, and releasing the drive shaft in a backward direction,thereby unwinding the string wrapped around the at least one spindle ofthe drive shaft and releasing the carriage to move in the seconddirection.